Michigan H.S. Cross Country Resource Center
Movies
(Source of reviews lost)
| Fire On The Track: The Steve Prefontaine Story - The legendary distance runner Steve Prefontaine blazed across tracks and into America's consciousness before meeting a tragic death in an auto accident at the age of 24. In this tribute to "Pre," narrated by writer Ken Kesey, a number of his contemporaries speak movingly of him as an athlete and a person. After setting high school running records in his native Oregon, Prefontaine went on to the University of Oregon, where as a freshman he began to dominate the American track scene and appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated. He was a distinctive character and archival films demonstrate the charisma and astounding confidence he brought to his sport. His race in the 5,000 meters at the 1972 Munich Olympics is shown in detail, with other runners in the race offering commentary on the gutsy performance of the 21-year-old. Pre didn't win a medal in the race, but as his sister puts it, the race "matured him" and made him determined to win gold at the 1976 Montreal Olympics (which he wouldn't live to do). Though one of the world's best athletes, after college he was forced to survive on food stamps, and he became a spokesman for the plight of amateur athletes. This is a touching look at a brilliant athlete and a charming character who still inspires runners today. --Robert J. McNamara Without Limits (1998) - This subtle and deeply moving film about the life of athlete Steve Prefontaine (Billy Crudup) is a rarity: a movie about the beauty of youth, as opposed to a patronizing, junk-culture youth film. Written by legendary Hollywood screenwriter Robert Towne (along with Kenny Moore) and directed by Towne with his usual masculine insight, bold creativity, and superior taste, Without Limits tells the tale of Oregon runner Prefontaine's love-hate relationship with his tactically minded coach, Bill Bowerman (Donald Sutherland) in the 1970s. The tug of war between the two men--Pre's passion for running each race as if it will be his last and Bowerman's seasoned, conservative strategies for winning--becomes a wonderful metaphor for distinct stages of life and attitude. It almost doesn't matter that this is the story of a track-and-field star: Prefontaine's gift, as Towne describes it, is in his refusal to be influenced by the relativity of talent. That could describe anyone young with a pronounced sense of possibility and organic integrity. But because this film's hero happened to be one of the most exciting American athletes of his generation, Towne also makes every race count--whether college meet or 1972 Olympics--through some extraordinarily well-directed sequences. Crudup and Sutherland are remarkable in their roles, and Monica Potter is stirring as Pre's lover. --Tom Keogh Prefontaine (1997) - Simply put, this is a story that needed to be told. This film does an admirable job of telling it. Steve Prefontaine was an amazing runner with an undeniable winning attitude. He loved to compete and, more importantly, he loved to win. This movie portrays that uncanny desire and his hard work ethic, right up until he was tragically taken in a car accident. Jared Leto did a phenominal job of playing Prefontaine. He looked and played the part of a world class runner. R. Lee Ermey complimented him nicely as his track coach, Bill Bowerman, who later founded Nike. Ermey's timing was excellent, and his character was very well-rounded on the screen. Craig T. Nelson also played an excellent smaller role in the film as the college recruiter. This good cast, and a very watchable screenplay made for an entertaining film. In a time of peace, love, and war, not to mention protests, this film gives you a nostalgic feel for the 70s. This is a good story, and an even better movie. -- Chad Spivak One Day in September (1999) - On September 5, 1972, eight Palestinian terrorists killed two Israeli athletes and took nine others hostage at the Munich Olympic Village. The event stopped the games, gripped the world, and perhaps for the first time fully illustrated the volatile state of affairs in the Mideast to the world. Kevin Macdonald's 1999 Academy Award(r)-winning documentary painstakingly reconstructs the events, shedding light on what the world saw on television with the exasperating revelation of behind-the-scenes blunders. This visceral, tense film uses riveting news footage to great effect, weaving in affecting interviews. Macdonald mourns the deaths of the innocent Olympic hostages and dutifully gives a voice to the Palestinian cause through interviews with Jamal al-Gashey, the only survivor of the eight terrorists, who briefly came out of hiding for the film. He earnestly but half-heartedly sketches a picture of the social and political situation that fueled the act, reserving his anger for the grossly unprepared German police force. The tragedy that erupted at the Fürstenfeldbruck air base becomes all the more upsetting in light of the incompetence and unforgivable mistakes: botched rescues, poor planning, bad intelligence, and lack of contingency plans. Even the irresponsibility of the media circus gets off lightly. It's a sobering, angering, often frustrating piece of non-fiction cinema, a thorough piece of historical research brought to life with an angry immediacy. Macdonald simply doesn't know what lessons to draw from it all. --Sean Axmakerr Running Brave (1983) - Starring Robbie Benson. Hey, he did a pretty convincing job of portraying Billy Mills, the American Indian who came from nowhere to win the 10,000 meters at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Chariots of Fire (1981) - The heroes are an unlikely pair of young athletes who ran for Great Britain in the 1924 Paris Olympics: devout Protestant Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson), a divinity student whose running makes him feel closer to God, and Jewish Harold Abrahams (Ben Cross), a highly competitive Cambridge student who has to surmount the institutional hurdles of class prejudice and anti-Semitism. There's delicious support from Ian Holm (as Abrahams's coach) and John Gielgud and Lindsay Anderson as a couple of Cambridge fogies. Vangelis's soaring synthesized score, which seemed to be everywhere in the early 1980s, also won an Oscar. Chariots of Fire was the debut film of British television commercial director Hugh Hudson (Greystoke) and was produced by David Puttnam. --Jim Emerson The Jericho Mile (1979) - starring Peter Strauss. It's about an inmate training inside prison walls to run in the Olympics, after officials learn he has run a four minute mile behind prison walls. An improbable concept, but a riveting movie nonetheless. On the Edge - starring Bruce Dern. This film was TOO realistic. Dern is a rare Hollywood actor who runs seriously. His daughter Laura Dern is currently a film star. This picture was about a guy "on the edge " of life, trying to come to grips with his life by running in the famous Dipsea Trail race in San Francisco. The plot is almost incomprehensible. Some gave this one good reviews, but not me. |